Hitometsu no Yaiba
by EspellaEve0124E
Summary: History is the version of past events that people have decided upon. -Bonaparte Napoleon. The beloved Anime and manga, Kimetsu no Yaiba is based on the Demon slayer corps' final records, recorded by Agent Gotoge. But is that the real truth? 2019 1year anniversary work, based on the fan comic [Tanmetsu no Yaiba].


"I smell blood." Thought Shinobu Kocho, walking down the halls of the Eternity palace. "My, my. This is a treasure trove."

Finding gold and wooden sliding door, she barged right in.

She saw multiple wooden bridges laid upon a lotus pond. And in the middle of the room, a man sat cross-legged, his back to the door.

Noticing her presence, the man lifted his head. "Ah, so you are here."

The man stood up and turned around. He lifted his hat in polite greeting.

"Why Hello there, very nice to meet you again, Insect pillar of the Demon slayers and my loving archenemy, Kochou Shinobu."

He always gives a carefree smile. And he speaks in a calm, gentle manner.

Second of the Upper moons, Douma… No, Douma-san.

My sister's fiance and, one of the former two pacifist pillars along with my sister. The legendary swordsman of the previous generation.

"Come on in! Come on in" He flapped his iron fan toward me. "We have a lot to talk about, you and I. Are that not right, Shinobu-chan?"

He waved his fan up and down, up and down. She could feel the gust from all the way from the door. A slight chill went across her neck.

"I did not actually expect she would send you here straight away…. I will have to thank Nakime-chan later for giving us time to talk."

He was the former Ice pillar. That should not have changed, even if he had turned into a demon. If not, that should have strengthened it.

"…I did not want to see you. …You still smile aimlessly, don't you?"

"Aimlessly? Oh, my clever little butterfly that hurt."

He put his hand over his heart and closed his eyes.

"I have been thinking about you nonstop; morning, noon and night. I thought of you every day and night."

* * *

Snap, clang. His sharp fans clashed open and so did his eyes. He was still smiling, but she could feel the deathly aura seeping out of his sweet smile.

"Yes. Every day. I thought about ways to take your life." Snap. "How can I make all your holes bleed with agony?" Snap. "How can I break off your leg while maintaining your beautiful shape?" Snap. "How can I stuff my clever butterfly and put her on a case?" Snap. He let down his arms, both holding his iron fan. "I wonder about that so much that seasons flew by without me noticing." Snap. "Did you not think about me?" A single vein pulsed on her forehead.

"How dare you speak such trash about my body. Get on with the times… Douma-san." Douma looked genuinely surprised at her outburst.

"Eeeeehh? You're not still touchy about your height, are you?" Snap. "So you do still have a cute bone left in your body, huh."

"Well, don't get angry about that. We still have lots to talk about, right? Do you want to talk about it? Oh! How about my paradise faith believers you used for your experiment…" She lunged at him, her sword, emitting a darkish red aura, went pass his right fingers and plunged into his left eye.

**Breath of Insect, Dance of the bee sting, Mere fluttering.**

"That was one nice stab. I didn't know you've gotten faster."

Douma said, lunging backward onto another bridge. He swiped his fan and the air froze at his command.

**Blood demon technique, Lotus ice.**

"You never stop talking, do you? …Well, that's fine. Considering it'll be your last words." Clack, clack. Shinobu draws in her sword.

"The battle is already over, Douma-san."

"Gh!" Douma stumbled as the purple poison spread throughout his body.

'Reaction is stable as predicted. …Well, I did use a **fine test subject** for this.'

Crash. Douma's left knee crashed down to the floor. He was trembling all over. 'Even an upper moon can't decompose this poison.'

"My, my… cough, I haven't felt this much pain… cough since I became a demon!" Cough! Hack! Douma spewed out blood. A large puddle of blood gathered around his knees. A small trickle of blood fell down into the pond, turning the water red.

**"But, this doesn't hurt much as the time you murdered Kanae and framed me for it!"** He cried out in pure anger and agony.

Shinobu's looked mildly surprised. "Too bad, so sad!"

"Now, what are you going to do about it? Your poison doesn't work on me."

Ching. She draws her sword as irritation bloomed on her face.

"How persistent… You do know a man like you are unpopular these days, right?"

* * *

From a young age, I was kind and clever. I always helped people in need and made them happy. **Because that was my nature.**

"There are rainbows in his eyes." My parents would always say when looking at me. "You are special my son. I am so proud of you." My father would say, rubbing my head. "I love you, our kind special boy." My mother would say, as she squeezed my cheeks.

My father was the twelfth head of the paradise faith religion. And I was to be the thirteenth head when I came of age. From young, I learned, saw and heard with my father, what our faith and kindness about.

And I also partook some of my parent's endless faith, kindness, and love.

And naturally, I learned to give them to those in need.

The paradise faith was a religion that emphasized the harmony between humans and demons. As such, many followers were those who had family members turned to demons.

I still remember that day… when I first heard their tragic life stories.

I cried.

How sad… that such tragic, poor creatures exist.

How sad… that I can do nothing about it.

Well, the rest is just a boring old tale.

Wanting to do about it, the naive thirteenth head joined the demon slayers, hoping to make a difference. And in the end… he lost everything he loved; his parents, his one and true love, and my followers; my family.

Looks like thirteen was an unlucky number.

…When you die, a person just becomes nothing. The body ceases to feel anything. Your heart stops and your brain stops. You rot and return to earth.

**And yet, your soul remains. Your soul, the embodiment of all the things you stood for in life, eternally remains. Even if they go to heaven, will they be happy? Knowing down on earth, your loved ones, turned to demons, are eternally condemned to walk this earth forevermore?**

I wanted to make all the pitiful happy and help them.

**That is why I was born.**

* * *

"Hmm… That's the fifth time, little sister. And that was no good either. It did not work." I raised my hand tauntingly to my former to-be-sister-in-law.

Her poisoned blade only left a deep gash in my hand, with purple poison lightly contaminating the wound. I could see her face twitch with irritation.

"It's getting less and less effective. How many times can you make the poison?"

I looked at her and she looked at me. I could see she was slowly getting down to her last trick. "I can see that your so-called test results are showing their bottom." Sympathy, genuine sympathy stretched across my face. I could see my twin reflections on her large, vacant purple eyes. Ah, how did things turn out like this? Why must things come to end like this? The things I have to say, the things I must act; it broke my heart to pound my little sister to a state of near-death, but lines had been crossed. And Someone needed to grab the birch cane.

"Ah~ How dull. How boring." Clank. "I could almost yawn." Snap.

Fury, I could feel pure fury climbing up to my face, but I held it in. I needed to hold it in.

"This all you got from sacrificing all those innocent demons and humans?" A faint blush appeared on my cheek. As did her; I could see that lone pulse, ticking on her forehead. "Is this all you could get from your merciless 'tests', my sweet sister?"

I lifted one finger-like my father used to when starting to scold me.

"Now, why don't we get honest and talk." She was relaxed enough to truly listen to me. That was a good sign. "Or, why don't you talk, my clever little butterfly."

Snap. "From young, you were strangely mature and always calm." Snap. "But you were always, kind to everyone. Then how could you…" Snap. "Use innocent demons for your 'experiments' and kill your only family left? Your sister Kanae?" Snap. My fan kept closing and opening. Ah, it was a bad habit of mine. I always did this when I was nervous. The question that has been haunting me for years; why? Snap.

Shinobu tilted her head sideways, this way and that before opening her mouth. "Kanae…? Ah, you mean test subject 24, don't you?" Snap.

She could see my face had frozen on my face. She knew, for the first time, she had caught me off guard. She….

I could feel the smile vanishing off my face. "…What? What did you…."

She lowered her head, with her eyes half-closed, making a face full of…irritation, pity, and sadness.

"After all these years, you were still thinking about 'why.' …That's why you were not meant to be…." She sighed her soft sigh.

The ones she gave me when I asked her about my proposal to my sweet butterfly.

"Well… If you insist, I needed a pillar class swordsman for the experiment." …What on earth was she saying?

"At first, I was worried about acquiring the body. A body of a pillar class swordsman is hard to come by." …What on earth was she saying!

"But I realized the thing I needed was walking right in front of me. How could I refuse this offer?" …Shinobu, by the ten kings of hell, what are you saying?

"I know there are no gods or buddha, but I could feel what people meant by 'godsent opportunity.' Ironic, if you think about it." …My clever little butterfly. Gods are not to be spoken with your mouth.

"Big sister must have been proud. She was able to contribute to the good of humanity, by the hands of her clever little butterfly!" "…Enough." How dare she look down on human emotion.

Snap. "You shut up, right now."

I could feel all the blood draining from my face as I stared at the treacherous, poisonous moth.** "Do not speak of her name. Do not mention her, my clever moth."** Snap. **"Mock Kanae no more."**

She looked shocked for a moment. She was actually lost for words. Then she cocked her head again. "I do not understand. You told me to speak of her then you tell me to shut up as if you are angry. You are making a grave contradiction, Douma-san." …Contradiction? Was that all? She looked down again with …genuine pity. "There were some of big-sis inside that poison I used the first time, Douma-san. Are you not happy that you are united with my sister, Douma-san?" "…Shut up." "Are you not happy that you two are 'finally one?' I…" "I said shut up." "Well, it looks like there are no more questions, so here I come?"

**Hundred-legged zigzag!**

She's weaving around in all directions! In an advance that could sunder a bridge!

She's fast! I can't predict her attack!

**Compound eye hexagon!**

she actually made a cut on my chest. She has improved. But…

"Have I not told you to shut up?" Blood spurted from Shinobu's body as she collapsed to the floor, her knees clearly giving away. His fans had found their mark. Even if he had switched to fans from double blades, he was still the pillar class swordsman.

"Let us finish this." I drew my fan and raised it high.

I was going to end this quick and clean. It would be her last mercy before suffering eternity in the fires of hell.

He had not only cut the skin covering the body, but he had totally annihilated the strings and muscles of her arms and leg. She was completely helpless.

And that's why Douma could not understand what happened next.

She stood up.

I froze again, not believing my eyes. Was this some sort of hallucination brought to him by Mara? "…No way. You can't be up. But how…."

Flap. Flap. Flap. I saw five colorful butterflies fluttering in front of him.

Then his left sigh failed me. His left eye fell out, as his entire left face rotted purple and black. Cracks appeared on his face as purple goo oozed from his cracks. A piece of meat fell from the back of his neck.

"Huh? What the?" I felt around my face. I had never felt this in my life. What was happening to my face? "My face… is melting?" I collapsed on to the floor, My right hand kept me from falling down completely.

I could see the single thread that kept my left eye from completely falling off.

What on earth was happening?

* * *

**"You never stop talking, do you? …Well, that's fine. Considering it'll be your last words."**

**"The battle is already over, Douma-san."**

* * *

"Cough!" I spewed blood all over the floor. "What… is this?!"

With a loud squelch, my right arm came off from the shoulders and I fell down. My forehead smashed the floor broad and cracked it. That shock brought me back to reality. My mind started racing.

Poison?! When… when did this happen?! I neutralized all of it! Something's wrong! I could see her walking slowly toward me. But… she does not have a face! I can't see her face! Am I hallucinating? My eyesight is failing me. …No. is it my brain? my memories? My senses? It's all wrong! How could have I felt nothing?! I can't regenerate! What….

Shinobu's feet stopped right in front of me. I heard a sharp swoosh of a blade and felt a dull pain on my neck. And everything dissolved to nothingness.

* * *

**[The Requiem in D minor, K. 626, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.]**

* * *

"Oh… are you finally awake? Good." She appeared from the darkness with a flutter of crimson butterflies. She was like the demon queen Mara, ascending from hell. "It appears you are in a top state. Good."

"[Preservation of a beheaded demon experiment]… seems to be a success."

I found myself, bodiless, and held up by the clever moth's bloody hand.

"My, my, what in buddha's name… is going on?"

"Oh, you idiotic bug. Still don't get it? You truly make me sick. But I will give you a hint; the first poison I used on you were very powerful drugs and hallucinogen."

I calmly retorted her bodhisattva smile with my own. Now I see. How stupid of me.

"…I was being played this whole time. …By you." She opened her eyes and I saw her purple dragonfly-like eyes, staring right at me.

"You were amusing. Attacking the air with your blood demon arts. I almost laughed." "…Impossible. How did the corps get a hallucinogen so powerful?" "A demon called Gyutaro? The sixth upper moon 'helped' us make it. He was a big help." She smiled again.

So, this had been her plan from the very beginning. She knew Nakime would send her to me on my behalf. She knew I would try talking, asking about her sister instead of fighting.

"But, I was truthful to you most of the time. When we get back, I'll let you see a big sister again. …Though, there's not much of her left…." She closed her eyes and made her calm face again. …Ah, is that how it was?

"I get it now." "I always knew that you were a bit off." She opened her eyes in mild surprise. "What?"

I could feel bits of my smile returning, a small bit of ease took hold of me as the small itch was finally scratched.

"You don't actually care about… your experiments and whatnot, don't you? They are all lies and acts, are they not?" I smiled as her face froze with blank shock. Or was it just another act?

"You are more pitiful than I ever imagined. You might be more pitiful than demons. **You can't feel anything, can you?"**

Her face stayed frozen for few more seconds before breaking into her usual poisonous calm smile.

**"What? No, that's not true, you bastard."**

* * *

"Sis! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I lost myself for a second and…! I, I never wanted to do this! I never did…!" Tears flowed down Shinobu's cheeks as she grabbed Kanae's hand to her cheeks.

"Sister! please, don't die!" Tears were visible on Kanae's face as she drew on a rattling breath. With her trembling right hand, she wiped her darling sister's tears a bit. "Shinobu, it's okay." Cough. "You don't need to lie to your nee-san like that…." Cough, cough. "You were curious, right? You wanted to know if, something dear to you were to die, you could be sad about it…." "…."

"You are not actually sad, are you…? I'm in pain Shinobu, I'm in so much pain…. Who would understand you if you are left alone… forever…."

They were both quiet for a moment.

* * *

"Ah, well… sigh…." Shinobu smiled as her tears stopped and dried instantly.

**"Ah. Did it show, nee-san?"**

* * *

Douma chuckled as Shinobu's face slowly hardened as he went on. "You never felt any proper emotions, all your life, right? Ordinary feelings like happiness or sadness… Anger or body-shivering joy, you can't understand any of that, can you?" "…." "You act happy when you need to be happy. You act sad when you need to need to be sad. And sometimes, you act like a mad scientist, crazy for experiments… but it's all just a big charade, is it not? When in reality, you have nothing. You are hollow inside, right?" "…." "Fu, fu, fu. How absurd, how foolish."

**"Why were you even born in the first place?"**

"…You are the rudest person I've ever met, Douma-san." Her face blank and cold, she spat out words like they were poison. "Why are you saying such harsh words like that?"

"My, my, are you angry? …Who are you copying right now?"

* * *

**"Ah, Did it show, Douma-san?"**


End file.
